Glyder 2 For iPhone: Bigger, Better, Faster and More!

Glyder 2Rating:

Back in April this year we reviewed Glyder and rated it 4.5/5 sure fire hit and ever since then it’s been a regular on this reviewers iPod touch so when I heard that glu mobile were working on a follow-up, imaginatively titled Glyder 2, I was eager to see how they have made a great game even better.

For those of you that haven’t played the original, Glyder is a relaxing game where your task is to fly the female lead character around the various environments collecting crystals and completing tasks. In summary Glyder 2 does more of the same just bigger and better.

There are 7 worlds/islands to complete in this new release and all of them appear bigger and more polished than it’s earlier counterpart. The controls are the same also and this means for the thousands of players that are already familiar with the original will be able to pick up and play with immediate results. Even those of you checking the game out for the first time will find picking up the controls relatively easily and before long will find themselves gliding, diving, swooping and sailing around the islands.

When starting the game you’ll only have access to the first island named Arctasia, which as the name suggests is an icy landscape of high peaks and cold, cold tunnels. The other 6 islands are opened up by completing tasks within the previous islands. The main method for this is by collecting the differently colored jewels from around island. The jewels are easily located and can be simply reached by using a combination of your flying skills and good utilization of the thermals that will take you from a potential close shave with the ground or sea to the high reaches of the island and the tree top jewels found at the top of the stratosphere.

The final few jewels on each level are usually cleverly located making reaching them trickier than the rest, a tight crevice or narrow tunnel can see the early demise of even the most talented pilot. However, the game is so enjoyable to play even the frustrations of those few hard to get jewels will keep you coming back for more.

Also making a return from the original are the point to point races. Throughout the levels platforms are located and landing on an A platform will start you off with the opportunity to race against the clock to point B. Finding your way to point B is simply achieved by following the brightly colored rings that act as checkpoints along the route, changing from blue to yellow to signify the next ring to go through. This makes for a great challenge and helps you to see parts of the islands that you may not have even been to before.

Whether you are simply looking to collect jewels or are competing in one of the point to point races you also get the opportunity to to unlock customizations to your Eryn’s wings and clothes that not only change the way your character appears but also how they fly with the ability to change your characters speed, lift, power, turn stall and dive. This is a nice addition to the game both from an graphical aspect and to a lesser point the changes it makes to the flight of your character.

The changes to your character will also open different areas for you to access meaning that you have reason to return to previously completed levels to access areas not previously open to you and your character Eryn.

The music as you glide around the island is effortlessly beautifully and is a wonderful accompaniment to the game-play with the the sound effects of Eryn’s wings as you fly about adding to the overall feel of the game.

Even after you’ve unlocked all of the islands there will still be much more for you to do and Glyder 2 should keep you entertained and coming back for more for months to come. In the words of the 4 Non-Blondes, Glyder 2 is Bigger, Better, Faster, More!